The Double Date
by Nitocolus
Summary: Gumball wants to see a movie with Penny, but Darwin's down-in-the-dumps. Carrie is always down in the dumps. Gumball's solution? Hook the two up and take them to the movie on a double date. Ending is fail.
1. The Proposal

**Damn it all if I'm not a fan of this show! I mean, I don't know what Cartoon Network's writers have been smoking these past few months, but whatever it is, it's working. Anyway, so I began reading fanfics for the show because I have no life until school starts or I find a job. Some were… darker than I'd like, others were very nice and friendly. One couple that I liked was Carrie and Darwin. Fun characters and complete opposites. Just seemed a bit natural and unnatural at once, kind of like the whole show, heh-heh.**

**On with the story!**

Darwin Watterson sat back after the hard work he'd performed. The roadside was completely spotless and his trash sack was filled with garbage and litter. He smiled brightly, proud to have been of such great service to the community. He looked over to see if Gumball had finished his portion of the roadside. He hadn't.

He was talking to Penny, the antlered peanut again. Darwin rolled his eyes and sighed. Figured as much. "Oh, Gumball; it's so generous of you to be donating your time to pick up litter on the roadside. Not many people are age would be so devoted to keeping nature clean." Penny sighed, standing next to Gumball. Gumball Watterson, a blue cat with love-struck hearts in his eyes (literally, I might add) merely murmured some pathetic response about caring about the environment. Darwin made a rather loud 'Ahem!' cough that snapped Gumball out of his daydreams and lovesick stares with Penny. A gesture at the ground reminded Gumball exactly what they'd been talking about.

"Oh! Right!" Gumball began quickly picking up debris off the side of the road while smiling nervously at Penny. She giggled at him. "Well, seems you two are pretty busy right now. If you want, we can hang out later." She said. Gumball made some babbling noise that only Penny seemed to understand most times. "Yeah, 5.00 is a great time to see a movie! I'll see you at the theatre in 2 hours, ok?" Penny winked at Gumball and for a second Darwin was worried he'd fall over. Penny walked away and Gumball began to recover.

"Isn't love great, buddy?" Gumball sighed as he returned to picking up trash at a much slower rate. Darwin sighed with a hint of angst, something uncommon for the usually chipper fish. "It's great." He said with little hint of emotion. Gumball eyed his best friend carefully. "Are you alright? You seem…sad." He asked. Darwin began laughing nervously. "Me? No, not at all! Would never dream of it, not in a million – alright, I'm sad." He admitted. Gumball blinked. "Well, what about, buddy? You can confide in me. After all, we're amigos! Compadres! Comrades and the like." Gumball nudged his fishy friend.

Darwin sighed again and looked up to the clouds. A bad reminder that made him slightly teary-eyed. "It's Masami." Darwin admitted. Gumball rubbed his chin. "Oh yeah… How has your relationship been these past few… what, weeks?" He asked, honestly forgetting how much time had passed since the incident in the tree house. Darwin glared lightly at his friend. "Gumball, it's been months." He informed flatly before lowering his head and becoming teary-eyed again, "She broke up with me." Gumball overdramatically gasped and covered his mouth. "No!" He said.

Darwin nodded. "She said it was only for show; to impress her friends. Apparently since Tobias and Banana Joe cut the tree house down before then, she didn't really see any point in continuing to use a guy in a 'pals before gals' pact." He explained. Gumball patted his best friend on the back sympathetically. Neither of them seemed to realize the old house on the other side of the road.

The old abandoned house, built as a neo-Victorian styled home nearly sixty years before, it had become haunted by the house's previous occupants. A family of three ghosts, each seemingly emotionless save for pain and irritation… and longing. The longing to feel once more, the longing to live once more, breathe once more, etcetera, etcetera. The house had long since slumped and grayed in colour, the windows broken and the door almost off its hinges. One such occupant claimed the attic as her own room and was staring out of the broken and shuttered window of the attic. This occupant was none other than Carrie, a ghost classmate of Gumball and Darwin.

It wasn't that she found watching the two of them pick up trash entertaining, but rather found it distracting. There was little to do in the house, considering thieves had ransacked it ages ago leaving nothing but heavy or worthless relics. Her friends and school often distracted her from something worse than the pain. She didn't mind the pain; in fact, she loved it as well as misery. It was her own addiction, a taste of emotions: her only reminder of life. But she hated the boredom. The unending, mind-killing nothingness that filled most days. If she distracted herself with things that made her feel, even if the only feeling that showed was misery, it was at least an emotion. But boredom? That was an actual misery to her. Heartache she could handle; emotional trauma, no problem. It was boredom that made her weak. There was nowhere to go, nothing to do.

So, she floated and watched Gumball and Darwin pick up trash across the street from her house. About an hour into it, Penny showed up and Gumball began drooling all over the place, leaving Darwin to take care of the slack. Carrie almost laughed at it; love. It was so… living. Not that Carrie couldn't feel it, per say. She just wasn't familiar with the emotion since death. So out of touch with every emotion asides from misery and pain. But longing to love… could that be an emotion she could feel?

She shook her head. Who needed love? It wasn't something for the damned. She continued to watch the two outside and her eyes widened in surprise. Apparently she'd missed something while she was preoccupied with her thoughts. Penny was gone and Darwin looked sad. Did Penny say something to Darwin to upset him? That didn't seem like Penny… Carrie growled in irritation. Why did she care? Because she was bored… She continued watching Gumball and Darwin pick up the trash when she saw something in the distance on the road. She quirked her exposed eyebrow at the shape questioningly.

A driver, fiddling with a map while talking on a cell phone, was swerving on and off the empty highway. Carrie saw this and looked at the oblivious Gumball and Darwin. She looked back at the driver and back at the two kids. Driver. Kids. Driver. Kids. Carrie moaned in irritation. How could they be so blind as to not see the car coming? How could the driver be so stupid? How could she even care?

Growling, Carrie stuck her head through the shutters to get a better look. The driver must have finally noticed because he was slamming on his brakes. The bad news was the brakes were very poor and by the time Gumball and Darwin looked up, the car was only a few yards away from them and closing that distance. Muttering something about stupidity, she phased the rest of her body through the wall and flew towards Gumball and Darwin. She latched onto the screaming boys' shoulders and made them intangible with herself. The car and driver went right through them, literally, and crashed into a streetlamp a few feet away.

Carrie made her and the boys' tangible again and glared at them when she realized they were still screaming with their hands over their eyes. "Ahem." Carrie coughed lightly. "Are we dead? Is this the Great Beyond?" Gumball asked, breathing heavily. "I'm too young to die!" Darwin chimed in. The two began babbling about afterlife scenarios and Carrie continued to glare at them. She looked back at the driver who was looking back at the still-living kids and scratching his head in puzzlement.

"Ahem!" Carrie coughed louder. Darwin and Gumball looked back at her, their pupils shrinking in fear. "We're ghosts?" Gumball asked. The two began crying at this point. "Oh! The humanity! Why do the good die young?" Darwin bawled. "Oh, how great spirit, do we traverse into the Great Beyond?" Gumball asked. Carrie rolled her eyes and began to float away from them. She had made it to her house when she heard Darwin, a whisper at this distance, say something about 'not being dead'. Their annoying voices began hollering her name and getting closer by the time she reached the door. She sighed and looked back at them.

"What do you guys want?" She asked. She also noticed the driver had managed to slink off with the car, though an oil leak and tire marks clearly showed where he was headed. "We wanted to thank you for saving our lives back there!" They said in unison, large, happy smiles nearly pressed up against hers. She glared at them. She couldn't help but notice the odor on Darwin. That sort of freshwater fragrance; a smell that only comes with a species that can live in its own filth. Sure, Darwin washed up, but the fishy smell couldn't be masked. Carrie kind of liked it; it reminded her of the undead back in the zombie swamps of New Orleans…

She snapped back into reality. "How do you know it was me who saved your lives?" She asked with her usual infliction. "Well, who else could it be? That car was gonna hit us, it didn't, next thing we know you're standing next to us." Darwin pointed out. "So, it was either you or some other ghost that cared enough to save us." Gumball added. "I didn't 'care' enough to save you. I just felt like it." She said her glare unchanging. Their smiles faded.

"Ok, so why'd you do it then?" Darwin asked. Carrie sighed in irritation. What is it with the fish and asking questions? "I just didn't think you'd like being ghosts. Plus, last thing my family needs is competition in the ghosting business." She said. The two Watterson boys raised an eyebrow at her answer. "You didn't think we'd like being ghosts?" Darwin asked. "What's not to like?" Gumball asked. Carrie's glare changed from her usual one to a surprised, questioning one.

"Well, besides never being allowed to just die, not being able to sleep, eat, taste, feel or breathe, nothing much. I mean, the only emotions you can really feel are misery and pain. And longing." She muttered the last part, but Darwin caught it. "Longing? You mean like after people?" Carrie sighed inwardly. For a fish he had good hearing. "For emotions. Emotions other than pain and misery. Emotions like happiness, pride, love – er…" Carrie looked taken aback.

"Love?" Darwin asked. The way he said it was half-question, half-looking back on fond times. "I thought you were just miserable because you liked being miserable. I always figured you could feel other emotions." Gumball said. Carrie looked back at him. "As far as I know, I feel miserable all the time because it's all I can feel." She shot back, matter-of-factly. Gumball rubbed the back of his head. "Have you ever tried being happy? Or proud? Or finding love?" He asked. Again Carrie looked taken aback. She would've blushed had she the flesh to do so.

"I never said love!" She said defensively. Gumball raised an eyebrow. "Yes you did. You said happiness, pride or love. Then you started muttering nervously." He explained. Carrie sighed for the hundredth time that day. "Alright, I said love. I long to find love. Happy?" She returned to her normal state. Gumball looked from Carrie to a slightly down-in-the-dumps Darwin. He looked between the silent duo several times before smiling slyly at Darwin and nudging him. Darwin saw the look in his eyes and the wink. "Gumball, no." Darwin hissed silently.

"Hey Carrie, what would you say if I could get you a date?" Gumball started slyly. Carrie returned her stare from nothing in particular back to Gumball. "Oh yeah? And who would ever want to date me?" She asked flatly. "Darwin would. He thinks you're kind of cute." Gumball said, winking at his horror-stricken friend who was gaping at him. Carrie looked surprised. "You think I'm… cute?" She asked. Darwin began rubbing the back of his head nervously, avoiding eye contact. "Yeah, heh-heh… I really like your… hairstyle?" He said meagerly, seeing as it was her only truly defining feature from other ghosts. He wasn't lying either; it did make her appear rather nice.

Carrie was lost in her own thoughts. _Oh my gosh, he thinks I'm cute? He likes my hairstyle? He wants to go on a date with me? This… this can't be real; Gumball must be pulling my leg_. "Really?" She asked after a little bit. Gumball nodded, nudged Darwin, and then Darwin nodded too. Carrie looked between them. _He's obviously lying,_ she thought, _but it'd give me something to do besides mope around the house all day_. "Alright, what did you have planned?" She asked Darwin. "Oh, we were going to…" Darwin blanked and Carrie raised an eyebrow. "We were going to go on a double date together; just you and Darwin, Penny and I. To the movies." Gumball explained, Darwin nodding nervously after a moment.

"What kind of film?" She asked. "Night of the Super Horror Zombie Slasher Maniacs 5: The Revenge of the Leviathan!" Gumball said in his dramatic voice. Carrie's eyes widened. "Really? Your mom's letting you see _that_?" She asked in surprise. Gumball and Darwin exchanged knowing looks. "Yeeeeah… Sure." Gumball said, avoiding eye contact. Carrie floated around Darwin, examining him. He was shivering slightly, getting clammy. She inhaled slightly. The smell of fear. She kind of enjoyed that. She floated through him and back to her front door.

"Alright, I'll go. When are we going?" She asked. Gumball looked at his watch. "If we leave now, we can drop off our litter bags and make it to the theatre in time to buy tickets." He explained. "Well, let's get going then." Carrie said, floating ahead of them. Darwin looked back at the house. "What about your parents?" He asked. Carrie looked back at the house. "They probably overheard everything. I wouldn't worry about it." She continued on her way and Gumball shrugged and followed. Darwin looked back at the creaking house before following his friend and 'date'.

Seeing a horror movie with a ghost as a date wasn't exactly what he'd planned for his community service day.

**And so ends this chapter. Originally going to be a one-shot, but I got carried away. Probably won't be too long of a story though. Hope you enjoyed and if you did, please review. Actually, even if you didn't like it review and tell me what you didn't like.**


	2. The Date

Penny stood outside the theatre expecting to see Gumball approaching. He did, but with Darwin and… Carrie? Penny scratched the back of her head. She figured Darwin would tag along; he was Gumball's best friend and like a brother to him. But Carrie? She seemed unrelated. "Hey Penny…" Gumball greeted with his love-struck tone. "Hey Gumball. I didn't know Darwin and Carrie would be tagging along." She said without even a trace of annoyance. How two interlopers could potentially ruin her date and her not get mad was beyond many people's understanding.

"Oh, yeah." Gumball said before pulling Penny aside and speaking to her quietly. "Darwin is upset about Masami and the breakup. Carrie, well, she saved our lives and went on about never being happy, so I… convinced them to go out together. I figured it'd be easier for them if they went on a double date with you and me." He explained quietly. Penny smiled at Gumball. "That's really sweet of you to help your friends out like that, Gumball." She said. "So… you're not mad?" He asked. "Not at all! I actually kind of enjoy the extra company. Not that I wouldn't mind going on a date with you alone, but horror movies aren't as scary when you hang out in groups."

"Great! So let's buy our tickets then!" Gumball trotted to the ticket booth. Larry was working the ticket booth, oddly enough. "Larry, my good man, four tickets to Night of the Super Horror Zombie Slasher Maniacs 5: Revenge of the Leviathan, please." He slammed correct change down on the counter. Larry sighed. "Sorry Gumball, but no children are allowed to see this movie without parental guidance. Actually, even then it's not recommended." He said. Gumball made a pouting face. "Not gonna work this time, kid. I need this job, understand? Plus, last thing I want is being on your mother's bad side." Larry shuddered in fear.

Gumball quickly stepped back to the group. "So… anyone have any plans?" He asked. Carrie sighed. "Let me talk to him." She floated to the booth. "Hey Larry. Four tickets for the movie." She said nonchalantly. Larry eyed her. "Are you sure you want to take them in there? I mean, the movie's not supposed to be for the faint of heart…" He began but Carrie's unchanging mood told him to just give her the tickets. The others followed her into the theatre.

"How did you do that?" Darwin asked. "Oh, I've been coming to see horror films for about 50 years now. They figured since I'm a ghost, the whole emotional trauma thing was a complete waste of time. I mean, it's not like I have anything to fear asides from an exorcism." She explained in her usual tone, whipping the hair out of her eyes ineffectively. Darwin stopped in his tracks. "50 years?" He asked in disbelief. Carrie nodded. "Well, 50 years next week anyways. Or 52. I lost count." She shrugged.

"Well, it's a good thing they let you see R-rated movies." Gumball said, "That would've been awkward to come all this way and not be able to get in. Plus, Darwin and I wouldn't have had enough time to bug Larry into submission like we usually do." Carrie shrugged. "Well, what kind of ghost would I be to deprive children of a horror movie?" She said. Carrie stopped floating ahead when they came to the concession stand. Darwin noted a look of longing in her eyes again. The longing to feed.

A few months back, Carrie had begun possessing Gumball's body, or 'borrowing' it, so she could feel alive once more and eat. The problem with that was once she tasted food again, and keep in mind food is plenty more delicious now than 50 years ago, she couldn't stop eating. She eventually went into such an eating spree that she devoured garbage and drank dumpster water. After that she began to learn self-control through using Gumball's dad as a host, but that was rather infrequent. She noticed Darwin was staring at her from the corner of her eye.

"Carrie," Darwin began slowly, almost reluctantly, "if I let you borrow my body so you can enjoy some popcorn and candy, do you promise not to go out of control like you did with Gumball?" Carrie eyed the walking fish. "You'd let me possess you just so I could enjoy some snacks during a movie, even though you know I have control issues?" She asked. Darwin smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I mean, what kind of person would I be if I denied my date the luxury of snacks at a movie?" He said. Carrie almost smiled.

"Y-yeah, um… I guess medium popcorn and some chocolate malt balls would be good… I guess…" She whipped her hair, and tried to maintain her usual tone, but she had begun stuttering and looked flustered. Darwin approached the counter and came back with popcorn, a box of malts and a cola. "What's that?" Carrie asked. "Oh this? This is vanilla Cola brand Cola. It's really yummy." Darwin rubbed his belly while holding everything. Carrie began silent breathing exercises, although she could not breathe. Technically, she couldn't really sigh either, but she often imitated it; a little trick to appear and feel alive once more. The breathing exercise was her method of preparing to be more in control when she began eating.

Penny and Gumball had gotten their snacks, popcorn and a soda to share, and caught up with Carrie and Darwin. "So, theatre 5 is where the movie's playing." Carrie read from the tickets before the fell from her hands. She could usually keep tangible, but she was having a hard time focusing. It wasn't the thought of getting to taste food again either. It was something she didn't want to think about, but couldn't help it.

Darwin picked up the tickets for her. Carrie looked flustered again and avoided looking at Darwin. It was him. He brought up weird feelings, feelings she wasn't familiar with, feelings she couldn't identify. And that scared her. It made her feel like she wasn't in control anymore. She performed her silent breathing exercises. She'd stay in control for the movie and whatever came after and when she got home, she'd talk to her parents about it. They were often miserable, but they had moments when they seemed lively.

She hadn't noticed that the others were already heading to the theatre. She hadn't noticed until Darwin grabbed her hand gently. "Come on, Carrie, the movie's going to start soon." He said kindly, like he usually did. Carrie's hand became tangible and she seemed to both regain composure and lose it at the same time. No one ever really touched her, and when they did it wasn't something like gently touching her hand. She was having a hard time focusing, but once entering the dark, cool theatre and taking a seat besides Darwin, who had let go of her hand, she managed to put most of the confusion away.

It wasn't as if Carrie didn't know what love was; she had felt family love at one point. She had the capacity to feel jealousy or embarrassment when it came to other people's opinions of her, but they'd become so petty with time. She still felt them at times, though. She knew what love was from descriptions in gothic-romance novels and the cheesy love scenes in horror movies, but she was unprepared for any emotion besides pain, irritation, misery, disgust and the like. For all she knew, maybe she was super elated, not in love. She'd have to talk about it with her parents after this 'date' was over.

The previews had started and Carrie felt relief as the emotions began to recede. A box of chocolate malt balls gentle rattled slightly in front of her. She looked over at Darwin who was smiling. Carrie said something she had never said before: "No thanks, I'm not hungry." Darwin's eyes widened in surprise, but he returned to eating popcorn soon enough. The movie soon began and Carrie, her nerves unsettled from the unrecognized emotions, began to feel on edge during the movie. It wasn't something she was used to. Every time she saw a horror movie in the past, it was just cliché with a few parts that would make normal people jump even when they saw them coming, but Carrie wasn't a normal person. But now her nerve was shot.

An especially frightening scene involving an axe-wielding maniac jumping out of a herd of zombies made Carrie visibly jump. Darwin, noticing this, put his hand on hers for comfort. Carrie looked at the hand and looked at him. He had smiled briefly for a moment before returning his attention to the movie. Oddly enough, the hand did soothe Carrie out some and she began to regain her composure again, albeit a little jumpy at startling scenes.

Darwin meanwhile was feeling at ease, enjoying the storyline of the movie. It was a rather cheesy film, but the whole subplot about the Leviathan's curse in a zombie apocalyptic movie was refreshing. He was feeling good again. After being kissed on the cheek by an older girl and kissed by Masami (so he thought, anyways) he understood why girls and guys loved hanging out so much. But Masami had just been using him and the older girl was just being nice. Carrie, though… she was kind of cute.

Darwin was now distracted by his thoughts rather than the movie. Carrie was a downer, loved being miserable and was easily annoyed. Of course, as Darwin saw it, everyone had down moments and that just meant they needed cheering up and he annoyed plenty of people with Gumball all the time, so that wasn't an unfamiliar situation. Loving misery? Well, she had said it was the only emotion she could feel, but somehow Darwin didn't believe her. He'd seen her display other emotions. It didn't help that she was still holding his hand.

Eventually the movie was over and the four walked out of the theatre, shivering. Gumball had screamed several times throughout the movie and would probably keep Darwin up later that night with zombie-proofing the house. Penny held his hand and he immediately got over his fears. "I really enjoyed the movie, Gumball. We should do it again sometime." She smiled. Gumball fell back into his usual incoherent, lovesick babble.

Darwin and Carrie watched them before looking down at their hands and seeing they were still holding them. They quickly let go and looked away nervously. Darwin was blushing and Carrie looked flustered again. "So… That was a good movie." Carrie said. "Must have been really scary. Even you jumped at some points." Darwin laughed lightly. Carrie still avoided eye contact. "Yeah… the movie did that…" She muttered under her breath, "Um, listen, Darwin?" "Yeah?" He smiled at her, looking her in the eyes. They say eyes are the gateway to the soul. Carrie thought Darwin's eyes were pretty.

"My D-day is next week and I wondered if you wanted to come along. It's not going to be any big celebration; just my family at my house, really. You can bring along some friends if you want." Carrie said in her usual unemotional tone, whipping her hair ineffectively at one point. She was back to her uncaring demeanor, so it seemed, but it was an act.

"B-day? Like your birthday?" Darwin asked. "No. D-day, as in the day I died. It's undead tradition to celebrate it. A sort of eternal momento mori, ironically." Darwin blinked. "Momento – what?" He asked. "Momento mori. It's a Latin phrase; roughly translates to 'remember your mortality'. It's ironic because we're all undead and thus no longer mortal. We celebrate it anyway." Carrie explained. Darwin gaped. "You know Latin?" He asked in surprise. "It gets very boring in my house, Darwin. Plus, it is a dead language." She explained. Darwin couldn't help but laugh slightly at the pun. Carrie smiled slightly at it too, realizing she had made an unintentional joke.

Gumball pulled Darwin aside just as he was finishing laughing. "Hey buddy, I'm going to walk Penny home. Are you going to uh… walk Carrie home?" He asked, looking behind Darwin back at the staring ghost. "Well, yeah, Gumball. It would be very unbecoming and improper of me to not walk my date to her house." Darwin said in his gentleman accent. "Well, alright then! Meet back up with you at home then, buddy!" Gumball smiled before returning to Penny and leaving the theatre with her.

Darwin turned back to Carrie, extending his arm. "M'lady." He said. Carrie smiled again and took his arm. "And here I thought chivalry died just a few years after I did." She said with a mix of humour and cynicism. Darwin scoffed. "Not as long as I still breathe. I try my best to be a gentleman." He said with a smile. "You do a good job at it. If you decide to stop by on my D-day next week, I'm sure my dad would like to meet you. He's big on the chivalry thing." Carrie said. Darwin smiled. "I'd have to ask my mom, but I'm sure she won't mind if I went to a friend's party."

Eventually they reached Carrie's house. "I had a really good time today, Carrie. I hope you did too." Darwin admitted. Carrie got flustered again. "Oh, yeah, well… I kind of enjoyed hanging out with you, too. We should… hang out more, sometime." She confessed. They stood there for a moment, examining each other. They began to lean in towards each other when Carrie and Darwin looked towards the door and suddenly separated, gasping in surprise. Carrie's father floated in the doorway. He had the same look Carrie always had, was taller and wore a top hat and cape. A mustache distinguished his face from other ghosts.

"Ah, Carrie. I apologize for interrupting your date. How was it, then?" Her father asked in a bored, educated accent. "It was fun, dad." Carrie sighed, the moment gone. Her father raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "Fun? There's a word you don't use often." Her father said. Carrie moaned in irritation. "I'll see you later, Darwin." She said nonchalantly. Darwin waved to her father. "See you later Carrie! It was nice to meet you, Mister…" He drew a blank. "I have many names, mortal. Benedict will do, for now." He announced. "It was nice to meet you Mr. Benedict! See you later, Carrie!" Darwin left with a bright smile that made Carrie smile softly for the third time that day.

After Darwin disappeared from sight, Carrie turned around to see his father smirking. "Yes, dad?" Carrie sighed. "Oh, nothing. Just good to see you… happier than normal." He said before disappearing through the door and into the house. Carrie was flustered again and looked back at where Darwin had disappeared before following her father into the house.

**Well, another chapter down. Some emotions don't register right in some people, I reckon. Anyways, the whole Benedict character is based of the Deviant Art character. Kind of borrowed it without asking, so… hope that won't lead to any problems in the future…**


	3. The Ghost

**A little pre-note: Apparently the character Benedict I am using is not entirely based on Benedict from the Deviant Art drawing, lol. In the drawing, he has visible hair and a monocle, a top hat, sports a cane, scarf and pipe and wears a frock coat draped over his shoulders. The way I wrote him makes him look like a magician XD**

**Carrie's mother, Loretta, appears in this chapter. Her mother is fully based on the drawing. I figured I'd but the artist's name on here for good measure: dannichangirl. So, look her up if you want to get a better visual of the parents… and please ignore the magician description. We'll just retconn that…**

**And before I forget, a slight correction: it is not 'momento' mori; it's 'memento' mori. Latin escapes me some days, lol.**

Carrie sat in the living room of her house with her parents. Her father, Benedict floated above a broken and rotted recliner while her mother, Loretta, hovered about. All three had the same rather bland expressions upon their faces; uninterested and rather annoyed. Carrie sighed again and her father raised an eyebrow. He was used to her sighing frequently, but there was something different about these sighs. As a father he learned to pick up on Carrie's moods; as a ghost, he learned to detect her moods in how she moaned or sighed or said things.

"Do you want to talk about your date, dear?" Benedict asked his daughter. Loretta turned suddenly. "Date?" She asked. "Oh yes, didn't you hear her earlier? A young fish lad, Erwin or something of the like, asked to court our little girl." He smiled at his wife. Loretta blinked, surprised, and looked back at Carrie. A smile crept across her face that matched Benedict's smirk. Carrie just about buried her head in her hands. Her parents were going to get all… emotional with her. How embarrassing.

"Oh, our little girl's growing up!" Loretta hugged Carrie. He tone was still bland and rather unchanged, but there was more emotion behind it. "Ugh! Mom! I've been growing up since, like, 100 years ago!" Carrie moaned. "Yes, but now you're dating! This is so unexpected!" Loretta began sounding slightly frantic. Carrie raised an eyebrow. "It is?" She asked. "Well, it's just, not many of the living like the undead. Not only that, but the undead aren't too open to relationships. It's a commitment problem, really. I mean, 'until death do we part' works for a lot of people, but not everyone can be happy together in the afterlife like your father and I." Loretta explained. Carrie nodded slightly as she got a grasp of what her mother was saying.

"And his name's not Erwin, it's Darwin." Carrie explained, "Besides, it's not that serious." Benedict continued smirking. "It sure looked serious on the front porch." He said slyly. Carrie glared at him, flustered again. "Dad!" She said. "Front porch, what happened out there?" Loretta asked. "Our little girl almost got her first kiss." Benedict smiled as his wife made an 'awww' noise. Carrie growled silently. Her parents were enjoying this too much.

"Ugh, you two are so embarrassing sometimes!" She moaned. "Well, of course we are, dear! That's what parents are supposed to be!" Loretta chimed. Carrie almost laughed. Her mother rarely told jokes, let alone 'chimed'. "So, I take it this Darwin chap is coming to your D-day, then?" Benedict asked. "Ooo, I'd love to meet him." Loretta said. Carrie made a weird face. "Well, yeah… he might be bringing his best friend, too, if that's alright with you guys." She said. Benedict made a gesture with his hand. "Perish the thought! You could host a carnival here for your D-day and we wouldn't mind. I mean, the house is already in shambles anyways, and it's not like we need sleep." He said, "Just so long as you're feeling happy."

"I still can't believe our little girl is in love." Loretta said. Carrie got flustered and defensive again. "No I'm not!" She said quickly. Her parents exchanged smirks. "Oh, but of course you are dear!" Benedict said. "Your insides feel all clamped up. Your face heats up easily. You're getting overly-defensive. It's just like when I met your father." Loretta explained. "Of course, we were the same species…" Benedict threw in. "Ben…" Loretta warned. "Sorry dear."

"So… this new type of pain that feels good is… love?" Carrie gaped. Loretta and Benedict nodded. Carrie shuddered. "Are you sure it's not some sort of ghost flu or something?" She asked. "Nope; that's love. An all but forgotten feeling amongst the undead. It makes me feel more alive just to see our little girl falling for some young lad." Loretta said. "Not only that, dear, but such a well-mannered one, too. You simply have to meet him." Benedict agreed.

"Whatever." Carrie said, "I'm going to go read more Hugo." She began to float towards the ceiling to return to her room faster. "Quasimodo was in love too, you know." Benedict called after her. Carrie glared at him. "Then I'll read some Mary Shelley." She declared. "Frankenstein wanted love too, dearie." Loretta added. Carrie moaned. "What other authors are in our library?" She asked. "The ones that haven't been ransacked? Well, that would be Victor Hugo, Mary Shelley, Jules Verne, H.G. Wells… I think we have a little bit of Plato and Aristotle." Benedict thought of their library.

"Ugh, forget it! I'll just read up some more on, I don't know, French or Romanian." Carrie said, pulling languages at random. "But you're already fluent in 20 languages. Why keep studying them? It's not like you'll forget them as a ghost." Loretta asked. "Why don't we buy any more books? We make enough money to sustain an average family, but I've never seen you guys spend any of it." Carrie asked.

"Well dear, we're terrible hoarders. It's an undead thing." Benedict explained, "Gives people an incentive to enter our lairs, than we can jump out and scare the dickens out of them. Jolly good fun, it is!" He and Loretta began chuckling slightly. Carrie rolled her eyes. "So, how much money do we actually have?" She asked. Benedict began counting silently. "Let's see… A few pounds of pre-world war gold coins that were never collected, the family jewels which we hid, and our modern amount of saved money from ghosting and other odd jobs that earned us well over thirty grand this year… I don't know. I'm sure it's all worth millions though. Loretta, what do you think?" He asked. "Oh certainly! Those jewels were handed down since the reign of Queen Victoria I, and I believe we still have that sabre from one of your Prussian ancestors, dear." Loretta replied. "Ah, yes. Good thing I kept that, too. People find floating swords to be exceptionally frightening." Benedict remembered fondly.

"Wait, we're millionaires and we don't buy any entertainment?" Carrie asked in disbelief. "What kind of entertainment?" Her parents asked in unison. "Well, they have television now. And video games and the like." Carrie listed. "But there's nothing really on television. Nothing but garbage." Benedict said. "Plus it rots your brain." Loretta added. "Firstly, I'm dead. Secondly, they disproved that television rots your brain. Actually, they proved video games increase hand eye coordination." Carrie noted with intrigue. "Hmm, I suppose we've gotten out of touch with modern medicine." Loretta noted. "Indeed." Benedict concurred.

"Well, I don't really like television much anyway." Carrie shook her head, "I was just wondering why we don't hire someone to fix the bookshelves and then filled them up again." Her suggestion seemed to set something off in Benedict and he got a wild idea. "Yes… I see it now!" He began. Loretta let out an 'oh dear'. Benedict had a habit of finding new ideas and dream jobs to entertain himself with. Actually, seeing as how he was a ghost, it wasn't a bad habit: job loss didn't mean starving and since they lived in abandoned houses, there was never threat of foreclosure. "What's the scheme this time, dad?" Carrie asked, unenthusiastically.

"We have a massive study section with loads of broken bookshelves, right?" He asked, floating around in a pacing pattern as he smoked from a ghostly pipe. "Yeah…" Loretta and Carrie said in unison. "What if we get everything fixed up and made this place a library? We don't need the money and could inflict some culture upon this town!" Benedict concluded. Carrie sighed. "Dad, the town already has a library! And it's pretty well-funded, too." She explained. Benedict blinked. "Really? My lord, when was this?" He asked. "Like thirty years ago!" Carrie said.

"Hmmm… I could just get a part time job there and bring home any of their worn books. I know a fellow in town that can fix them up, right as rain." Benedict pondered. He shook his head. "Weren't we talking about something else before all this book nonsense?" He asked. "I believe we were discussing Carrie's boyfriend." Loretta said. "He's not my boyfriend!" She said defensively.

"Ah yes," Benedict smirked again, "Tell us about him, dear." "Yes, yes. Go on and tell us all about this Darwin fellow. He sounds absolutely splendid!" Loretta added. Carrie sighed. "Well, he's a fish with legs and arms…" She began. Her parents were nodding, overly intrigued. Carrie sighed; they really needed a life (no pun intended).

"So he's this fish… He hangs out with his friend, Gumball Watterson a lot. They live together. He's like, Gumball's pet fish turned adopted brother, or something like that. Anyways, so Darwin's considerate about others' feelings, has a caring personality, isn't afraid to admit he thinks certain things are cute or wonderful, regardless of what other people will think of him… He's caring about other people and the environment, looks after his friends and family… I don't know, he's ones of those kinds of people that are so uncommon in this world. He also has this certain scent to him that reminds me of the zombie swamps in Louisiana, or the haunted lakes of Europe… A sort of, freshwater fragrance…" Carrie's eyes shot open and she realized she'd been holding her face with her hands and smiling softly the entire time with her eyes closed.

"My god, I am in love, aren't I?" Carrie asked rhetorically, her smile being replaced by a horror-ridden frown. Her parents snickered. "Very much so, dear." Loretta smiled. "Well, or unhealthily obsessed, but I very much doubt the latter." Benedict chuckled. Her parents certainly seemed livelier, which was good. At the same time, the jokes were embarrassing her.

"Oh, this is going to be great! We've never had wanted guests here before." Her mother said. "Indeed! I suppose we should get rid of the clutter and broken glass… It would be a shame for a child to take a wrong step and injure himself." Benedict looked around at the mess that was their floor. "While we're at it, we should probably make sure there isn't anything toxic or radioactive in the house…" Loretta looked at an inconspicuous barrel with growing green liquid floating in it sitting in the corner a few feet away. "He's a walking fish that can breathe air and talk. I doubt radiation is going to do much." Benedict said nonchalantly. Loretta glared at him. "Then again, I suppose it wouldn't do too much harm to move it to the basement for awhile…" He said nervously.

"You should show Darwin some of your _Ars moriendi_ when he visits. Or perhaps your _Vanitas_ stills?" Loretta suggested. Carrie shook her head. "I don't think he appreciates those styles of artwork. He's a really… optimistic kind of guy." She explained. "_Ars moriendi_ can be happy. _Vanitas_ however, well, that's made to sort of depress people…" Benedict commented before he phased himself and the barrel through the floor to the basement. "True, but skeletons might unnerve him some. I'd rather wait and see how he reacts being at my house surrounded by undead culture. It's usually frowned upon by the living…" Carrie explained.

Benedict returned. "You've never been one to care about people's opinions before, Carrie. It's really cute how this boy makes you react." He said. Carrie moaned again. Her parents were so embarrassing because they were honest and liked exploiting the situation because it was entertaining.

Still, she couldn't help but love them in the family sense. Maybe she did have these emotions all along…

**Another chapter down. An author's note: **_**Ars moriendi**_** is Latin for 'Art of the Dead'. I just thought it would be funny if Carrie painted because there are already numerous art genres surrounding death, the deceased and the undead. Also, **_**Vanitas**_** is Latin for 'emptiness' and is a specific art style made to reflect the meaninglessness of life and transparent nature of vanity. An example would be a picture of a guy that spent his life earning medals and prestige, only for his corpse to now be laying on his pile of medals.**

**Hope you enjoyed another chapter, please review.**


	4. The Fish

Darwin sat on Gumball's bed as Gumball dashed around frantically, grabbing boards and heading towards the windows. "Darwin! Help me put up zombie barriers!" Gumball shouted back to his best friend. Their mother, Nicole opened the door suddenly and glared. "You two went to go see that horror movie even though I told you not to, didn't you?" She asked, having overheard the 'zombie barriers' comment.

Gumball began sweating nervously. "Uh… No, of course not! We're just playing zombie apocalypse!" He said defensively. His mother glared at him before slowly disappearing behind the door and shutting it gently. "That was close, right buddy?" Gumball turned to Darwin who was staring at the bottom of the top bunk, deep in concentration.

"Darwin?" Gumball asked, suddenly looming over his brother and startling him out of his thoughts. "Oh, sorry Gumball. I was just thinking about earlier today." Darwin admitted. "Yeah, that movie's kind of getting to me too." Gumball looked over his shoulder nervously. "What? Oh yeah, the movie. I was talking about Carrie and walking her home afterwards." Darwin clarified. Gumball sat down next to him.

"So, what happened that's got you all distracted?" Gumball asked, the previous anti-zombie antics all but fading from his mind. "Well, it's just; we had such a good time at the movies… I never took her as the frightened type at horror movies, but she sure seemed jumpy. Not only that, but when I held her hand she calmed down and we didn't let go of each other until after the film." Darwin explained. Gumball smiled. "Looks like you are in l-o-v-e, love my friend." He said as his smile shifted into a smirk. Darwin blushed.

"I don't know what to do! My relationship with Masami went bad, Gumball! I'm not sure I could handle another rejection!" Darwin stood and began pacing around frantically. Gumball looked at his friend worriedly. "Darwin, calm down! I mean, if she held your hand as long as you held hers, than obviously she didn't mind it." He tried to reassure the young fish. "Yeah, but what if she thought it was a joke or was just being friendly?" Darwin asked. Gumball stared at him half-lidded. "If she thought it was a joke, she would've laughed cynically like she usually does at jokes. I also doubt Carrie's the kind of person to 'just be nice'." Gumball reasoned.

"What else happened, like after the movie when you walked her home and stuff?" He asked after letting the reassurances sink in. "Well, I walked her home like a proper gentleman, and we stood on her front porch and…" Darwin trailed off, not sure how to explain what had happened. Gumball raised an eyebrow. "And...?" He repeated. "And we looked at each other for a little bit before closing our eyes and moving towards each other. We felt a presence and opened our eyes and Carrie's father was floating nearby." He explained.

Gumball slapped his hands to his cheeks and gasped over-dramatically. "Was he mad that you kissed his daughter?" He asked. Darwin blushed. "We didn't kiss! We just leaned in close with our eyes closed. It could have meant anything, you know. Maybe we were going to hug." He argued defensively. Gumball rolled his eyes. "Right." He said simply.

"But he stood there and talked to me briefly in an educated accent. I tried to be as respectful as I could, but I think almost kissing his daughter might have given a bad first impression…" Darwin sighed. "Aha! So you admit you were about to kiss her!" Gumball accused. "No I didn't! I just meant that that's what it probably looked like to him, is all! I mean, it could've been a hug!" Darwin defended himself as he got flustered.

"Whatever, you can't deny it forever. But back to the subject at hand; you're worried what her father's opinion of you?" Gumball asked, "That seems a little paranoid, dude." Darwin made a 'humph' sound before glaring at his feline friend. "And you're telling me you wouldn't care what Penny's parents think of you?" He asked. Gumball's eyes widened as he thought of what it would be like for Penny's father to have pulled up the night of the party a few months back instead of his father. Of course, having never met Penny's father, he imagined him as a muscular and rageful antlered peanut bent on tearing him apart for that near-kiss.

"My gosh, you're right!" Gumball admitted, "So, what are you going to do?" Darwin thought about it. "Carrie invited me to her D-day next week." He noted. "What? Like a birthday or something?" Gumball asked. "No, it's a deathday." Darwin explained. "Ah, that's clever." Gumball replied flatly. "Anyway, so she's invited me to her house next week to meet her parents and hang out with her and stuff. I think I can make a good impression of myself there and see if Carrie really likes me." Darwin explained.

"I'm sure she likes you! I mean, you two seemed pretty close at the theatre, and if you two were about to kiss –or hug – then obviously she likes you." Gumball reassured him. "I just want to be sure. I don't think I could handle a third heartbreak." Darwin said. Gumball raised an eyebrow. "Third?" He asked. "The princess, remember?" Darwin asked. "Oh yeah… I had pushed that out of my memory up until now, thanks for that…" Gumball grumbled. "Well, why would that bother you? I mean, you hadn't even met her. And now you never will because she got baked by the sun." Darwin got teary-eyed. "Brother, one of these days we're having a serious talk about that girl." Gumball patted his friend on the back.

"So, what are you going to do until next week?" Gumball asked after awhile of silence. "I don't know. Do I call her or… What would you do if you were in my shoes, Gumball?" Darwin asked. "You can't ask me what I would do in your place, Darwin. Carrie likes you, not me. I'm afraid you gotta figure it out on your own." Gumball advised sagely. Darwin thought about Gumball's uncommon bit of wisdom. His brother was one to give good advice every so often and that last bit was pretty good.

"What would I do?" Darwin thought to himself, looking out the room's window before Gumball returned to boarding it up. "I guess I could call her tomorrow." Darwin mused. "I heard you're only supposed to do that after three days." Gumball mused after getting the boards into place. "Oh… Well, I guess I could wait three days." Darwin said. "Great, do you know her phone number?" His brother asked. "Actually, I don't even know if she has a phone." Darwin admitted. "Well, than that won't work." Gumball replied as he began pulling yarn and bells out of the closet.

"Isn't school the day after tomorrow?" Darwin asked. Gumball shrugged, not exactly sure. "Yeah, we go back Monday because today is Saturday…" Darwin checked the calendar. "Aw man, school again? Already?" Gumball moaned. "Yeah, but think of it this way, you can see more of Penny." Darwin pointed out. Gumball made an overdramatic sound while holding his cheeks and staring off into space with sparkles in his eyes.

While Gumball was out of it, Darwin thought out loud. "And I can spend more time with Carrie, too." He said to himself. Yes, he'd wait a day until they school started and then he'd begin acting like a proper boyfriend at school. The only question was: how did he go about doing that? Gumball pretty much just fawned over Penny with incoherent babble, but Darwin felt that wasn't going to be very tactful in his relationship.

And there was always the fact that he'd have all of Sunday to worry over what to do before he went back to school. Maybe Gumball would have some fun scheme to distract him until Monday, like building a poorly conceived ramp and trying to jump a gulley, or maybe some mini karate tournament. Yeah, that would be distracting.

So Darwin got into his bowl and drifted to an uneasy sleep as Gumball continued hammering boards into place without their parents seeming to notice. In that sleep came odd dreams, not quite dream or nightmare. Dreams of love, life and undeath…

**Another chapter completed. I hope people are enjoying the experience.**


	5. The Day Off

**Lots of reading… lots of reading. My book on Mars Direct got here and now I'm waiting for a book on Technocracy and Marxism, not to mention I want to finish the Gaunt's Ghosts series of WH40K novels. The problem with all these awesome books? I won't have time to read them thanks to AP English. Let's hope I'll have time to finish up the two stories I'm working on.**

Sunday came the following morning and Carrie waited around her house, wondering what to do. She'd been wondering all night. Should she go see Darwin or just wait until Monday? What were the consequences for either decision? The benefits of either? If she stayed, she'd be bored and worrying herself all day. If she went to see Darwin, she might be risking the relationship. What she really needed was something to take her mind off of it until Monday, and then she could just hang out with Darwin in school.

Carrie exhaled heavily, regaining her uncaring poise. Why was she worrying so much? She wasn't usually like this, no, not at all. Darwin was driving her insane with worry; all she needed was to relax, yeah, relax. Just take it easy, sit back and… be bored and stare out her window all day like she did nearly every other weekend. Carrie frowned. That wasn't such a fun idea, because she wouldn't be bored or distracted or miserable; she'd just be confused with her thoughts.

Carrie floated away from the window. Maybe she'd hang out with Masami, seeing as how they were close friends. No, that could be awkward considering she was dating her ex. Wait, what did Masami care anyway? She was just using Darwin, so she wouldn't mind. Still, it seemed too awkward to try just yet. Who else did she know to hang out with? She needed somebody she could talk to; somebody that was a good listener and had experience in relationships. She glanced back at her parents. No, someone her age that was less… dead.

And then it hit Carrie and she smiled. She'd go see Penny.

…

Darwin followed Gumball out of the house. He'd just wait until Monday to hang out with Carrie. After all, he didn't want to come off as obsessive or anything; it would look bad and might be rather embarrassing for all involved. So, instead Darwin joined Gumball to hang out with Tobias and Banana Joe. Maybe just doing guy things like rugby or something stupid would distract him, clear his thoughts and make him more relaxed. How did Gumball always stay so casual when he was madly in love with Penny? It was a very desirable trait.

So, the two met up with the walking rainbow and his anthropomorphic fruit friend. "Hey guys, what's up?" Banana Joe greeted with his characteristic laughter tagged at the end. "Hey Joe! Hello Tobias!" Gumball returned the greeting. Darwin waved and let out a meager 'hey' that fortunately neither of the two friends questioned.

"Pleasantries aside, what's the plan for today?" Tobias asked. Gumball put a finger to his face and hummed. "Since the zombie apocalypse never happened, I guess it would be safe to go to the arcade…" He suggested. "Zombie apocalypse?" Tobias asked. "It's not important." Gumball assured hastily. "The arcade sounds fun." Tobias agreed. "Yeah, maybe I can win some tickets for a Groucho mustache disguise." Banana Joe agreed with a laugh. "Yeah, whatever's good." Darwin agreed.

So the four guys walked off to the arcade in town. The walk took a few minutes and Darwin was still distracted by thoughts of Carrie, but once they reached the large, dark store full of flashing lights and little sounds, Darwin became absorbed in a video game spree with Gumball, followed by slushy-drinking contests and intense brain freezes directly after.

Of course, this was within the span of a few hours. Sadly, that's all the money they had on them and they certainly weren't about to ask Tobias for a handout; Darwin assured Gumball that it was demeaning and impolite. So, what else was there to do but head home?

The two Watterson boys began to walk back to their home. "You know, that was a fun day. I've completely forgotten why I've been stressed out this weekend." Darwin smiled brightly. Gumball shrugged. "I don't know; something about a girl." He explained vaguely. Darwin stopped in his tracks, his pupils shrinking as memories flooded back in.

"I still don't know what to do about Carrie!" Darwin shouted, startling Gumball back into reality. "Oh yeah. Well, maybe Anais or Mom or Dad can give you some advice." Gumball advised.

"Maybe…" Darwin admitted softly.

…

Carrie floated uncomfortably on the front porch of Penny's house. It was so… lively. Bright colouring made the house contrast with her usual surroundings. Carrie shuddered before knocking. It was 1.00PM so Penny should have already eaten lunch.

Penny actually answered the door. "Oh, hello Carrie." Penny greeted with a smile, "Please, come in." She opened the door wider and gestured into her home. Carrie floated inside and waited for Penny to shut the door. "So, what did you come over for Carrie? Need some help with a school project, or maybe just wanted to hang out?" Penny asked. Carrie was eyeing the floor nervously.

"Can we talk… girl to girl?" She asked quietly after a moment. Penny smiled brightly, seemingly generating warmth that could be felt. Carrie flinched lightly from the sudden physical kindness. "Of course we can talk, Carrie. You can trust me for anything." Penny assured.

Carrie checked the room to make sure they were in private. "Alright. What I'm about to tell you is something… something I'm very unfamiliar with." She admitted. Penny nodded, sitting down and crossing her legs. "Well, I think I might be in _love_ with… Darwin." Carrie admitted, seemingly ashamed. Penny didn't see the shame in it and let out a 'squee' sound before hugging Carrie who flustered.

"Oh, Car, that's too cute!" Penny said before releasing her. Carrie lifted a ghostly hand. "Don't call me Car." She said flatly before whipping her hair. "Oh, sorry. But why would being in love with Darwin be a problem?" Penny asked. Carrie groaned. "Because I don't know what to do! I've been dead for over 120 years, Penny! Only 100 years ago did I get pas the whole 'moan-and-groan' phase!" She explained. "Actually, you tend to do that a lot…" Penny interjected. "Whatever." Carrie said.

"The point is," Carrie continued, "I don't know how to deal with these sorts of emotions! Actually, I don't really know how to deal with any emotions." Penny sat back and thought for a little bit. "Well, how have you been treating the situation so far?" She asked. It was Carrie's turn to think.

"Well, we saw the movie together, that much you remember." She started off, Penny nodding along, "Then he walked me home like a gentleman." Carrie blushed and almost giggled, but caught herself and regained composure. Good gods, how this infatuation was making her… giddy. Gross. "We stood on my porch…" Carrie trailed off and eyed the room.

"And..?" Penny asked, expectantly. "Um… And, uh… Then we moved in closely with our eyes shut…" Carrie finished quietly. Penny gasped and began giggling. "Oh, Carrie! I can't believe you two kissed already!" Carrie became flustered once again. "We did not kiss! We just… came close together with our eyes closed. It could've been a hug." Carrie argued, crossing her arms and flipping her hair again.

"Right… Anyway, it sounds like things are going well between you two. I don't see why you need any help." Penny said. "But, I don't know what to do next! I'm so confused…" Carrie admitted. "Just… do what comes naturally." Penny advised. Carrie put a ghostly hand to her face. _Do what comes naturally, _she thought, _now that might work._

"Thanks Penny. I've gotta go think some things over now. Thanks again for the help." Carrie said, floating towards and through the door. She began the long float home.

…

"Please! You've gotta help me! You're like, the smartest person in the house!" Darwin pleaded. The little pink rabbit, Anais, slapped her head in frustration. "Darwin, I'm in elementary school! I don't know anything about dating or love!" She retorted. "Aw, man." Darwin let out defeated.

Anais patted her older brother on the back. "But, there is someone in this house that is much wiser than I am. You know who it is, Darwin. Just look into your heart and I'm sure you'll find the right person to ask for advice." She smiled at him before walking away. Darwin stood for a moment and pondered her words.

A few moments later, he was standing before Richard Watterson, a large pink rabbit that was also his father. "Anais suggested you to talk to me?" Richard asked in disbelief and pride. "Well, I think it was you she wanted me to talk to." Darwin rubbed the back of his head. "Well, don't you worry, Darwin. I have lots of experience with girls!" Richard assured him.

"Now, the first thing you need to know is that women love to work, or at least your mom does. It seems that she's happiest when I don't bother doing anything at all." Richard continued. Darwin frowned. He didn't like where this was going. "Women also love it when you're jobless and overweight, or at least I think your mother does." Richard pondered the last bit of advice. Darwin began to slip away from the table as Richard continued talking to himself.

He made it out of the kitchen when he saw his mother, Nicole, smiling at him. "I heard you had a little crush on someone." She said sweetly. Darwin blushed. "Yeah, kind of. I just don't know how to react about it. Gumball suggested I talk to someone in the household, but it wasn't Anais or Dad, so I don't know who else it could be." He admitted. Nicole's ears fell back flat against her head and she stared half-lidded at her younger son.

Nicole smiled and kneeled down beside Darwin. "You know, sometimes the best thing you can do for a girl you like is let her know how you feel." She advised. Darwin's eyes shot open in surprise. "That… makes sense, actually." He admitted before hugging Nicole and running upstairs. "I can't wait until tomorrow now!" He shouted back.

Nicole smiled and whistled as she returned to cleaning the house, proud to have stood up to yet another parenting test. She couldn't help but sigh and roll her eyes at her husband still going on about his qualities and how women 'loved them'.

**That's the end of this chapter. I think there are two chapters left until the story is finished.**


	6. The Week

**Well, this chapter might be coming up a little late. Writing will become a tedious secondary task rather than a fun side hobby soon enough with an influx of homework…**

MONDAY

Darwin arrived at school with Gumball. Darwin had started the journey to school carefree and looking forward to the day and the chance to tell Carrie exactly how he felt. Unfortunately, as soon as he stepped out of the car and his mom drove off did he feel an insuppressible fear of rejection.

It wasn't so much the rejection itself, as he had disliked from past experiences. It was the awkwardness of that rejection that he feared. He had really come to like Carrie, not just a sort of fast-growing love, but also as a friend. If he told her he loved her (which, looking back he had said to several girls that he didn't really love much) and she rejected him, it would be an incredibly awkward situation. In the hall, they'd avoid each other. In class, she'd ignore him. After school, she'd disappear. It would be more than losing a potential love; it would be losing a friend he rather liked.

He turned to ask Gumball for advice, but Penny had already walked by and he followed her with his usually lovesick grin. Darwin began shaking nervously and ran into the school. Maybe he'd just get into class earlier so he wouldn't be able to talk to her. After all, maybe he was being too quick about this.

Reaching his locker on the second floor, Darwin looked around nervously before opening his locker and sorting out his needed materials. He put books away, took books out and sorted out homework. When everything was settled and his locker was neat, he closed and locked it, heading towards Ms. Simian's class. Meanwhile, Carrie had arrived at school and was looking for Darwin. When she had thought over what the natural course of action should be, she decided that telling him how she felt would be the wisest and most appropriate decision.

She flew up to the second level, through the flooring and came up right behind Darwin as he passed by. "Oh, Darwin, I was looking for you." She called out in her monotone and flipping her hair. She was smiling slightly, but that faded at Darwin's reaction. Darwin turned around startled, screamed, and nervously eyed the hallway before jumping through a nearby glass window and falling twenty feet onto the playground. Carrie looked out the window to see Darwin limping home.

…

TUESDAY

This day, Darwin took the car ride to school to mentally prepare him. He was more in control and determined to finally tell Carrie how he felt. He assured himself he'd feel better when it was all in the open and nothing could be more embarrassing than what he had done yesterday.

This time when he stepped out of the car, as Gumball ran off to hang out with Penny (again), he marched into the school and looked for Carrie. Carrie was putting her books away in her locker, that same nonchalant-yet-miserable look on her face. Darwin inhaled and exhaled deeply before marching over to her.

"Oh, hey Darwin." Carrie greeted with a hair flip. Darwin suddenly lost control, but this time he did not break out in fear and do something stupid. He merely lost his declaration of love from his mind and searched desperately in his head for it. Carrie raised an eyebrow at how he hadn't greeted her back and how he was now just standing there. Eventually, she figured now would be better than never to tell him how she felt. "Darwin, I…" She stopped and her eyes widened in shock.

In her newfound emotion of love, she had forgotten about how awkward things could go if they don't work out properly. Needless to say, she was rusty. 120-years kind of rusty. She couldn't even be sure this was love. Her parents had said it was love, but they'd been dead 120-years too, so who knew? Suddenly, reality seemed to shift around Carrie. Nothing really seemed real anymore. Words began to blur and she began to wonder if she was even real, a manifestation of her own being or a manifestation of someone else's being or imagination.

So, Darwin stood there at a loss for words and Carrie floated in a sort of listless daze well after the bell rang. Gumball and Penny were walking to class when they noticed their two friends still standing there and quickly moved them into the classroom to keep them out of trouble.

The two eventually snapped out of their daze, but were too put-off from their respective dazes to try telling each other their emotions again that day.

…

WEDNESDAY

Carrie went through her own breathing exercises, as she sometimes did, and stopped and roughly the same time and place that Darwin had. They were standing, determined, in front of one another with their breath held. Carrie, of course, did not have 'breath', but she did had a limit to holding her cheeks out that annoyed her into releasing them in a sort of exhaling motion.

The two stood there before both exhaled in a heavy dual sigh. "So…" Darwin began. "So…" Carrie echoed. They stood there for a few moments until Darwin's stomach began to growl. "I'm going to go eat some breakfast. Carrie, did you want to tag along and eat something, too?" Darwin offered. Carrie smiled softly. That was one such reason she admired Darwin. "Maybe just one pancake…" Carrie admitted before following him.

It was more than one pancake. Carrie had gotten better at controlling her appetite through possessing and eating as Richard Watterson, Darwin and Gumball's father. However, the anxiety that trying to confess emotions that hadn't registered with her for over a century made her lose control in her eating and go into yet another zombielike state of consumption that only ended with Darwin going into a food-induced coma.

Carrie fled the scene in embarrassment while Darwin didn't recover until well after school ended.

…

THURSDAY

Carrie searched the school for Darwin not only to, yet again, attempt to tell him her feelings for him, but mostly to apologize to him about yesterday. That was… embarrassing would be an understatement for her. So, Carrie floated around until she found Darwin sitting at a lunch table with Gumball.

She began to approach him, but stopped a safe distance away out of both of their earshot when she heard her name in their conversation. She listened closely to what they were talking about.

"I don't know, Gumball. I really like Carrie, but every time I'm around her it's like I don't know how to speak." Darwin explained. "Man, do I know how that feels." Gumball chuckled. "Yeah, but at least you know Penny likes you. I just don't want to make an idiot of myself in the event Carrie doesn't like me. I mean, I don't know if she'd ever talk to me again if I told her… well, you know." Darwin sighed.

"That you love her?" Gumball winked at Darwin and Carrie's eyes widened. Darwin moaned and put his head in his fins. "Yes Gumball. I… I love her like you love Penny… I just wish I could tell her like you can tell Penny." Darwin confessed to his best friend. Gumball looked up and winked at Carrie. Carrie blushed, realizing that in listening to Gumball and Darwin's conversation, she had drifted into not only their range of sight, but a few feet behind Darwin. She held her 'breath' and stared flustered at Darwin's back.

Darwin eventually raised an eyebrow at Gumball's smirking and mouthing of 'go on' to someone behind him. He turned and saw Carrie floating there and he turned a bright red. "Carrie!" He shouted, "How, uh, how long have you been there?" Darwin went from shock to nervously tapping his fins together. Carrie smiled softly, trying to contain her happiness and relief.

She instead moved forward and gave Darwin a hug that he returned after snapping out of his daze. Out of nowhere Principal Brown appeared and gasped. "No PDA! PDA is against school rules! Detention, tomorrow, both of you!" He shouted frantically. And both Carrie and Darwin groaned as the moment was spoiled.

…

FRIDAY

After school the next day, both Carrie and Darwin reported as told for Friday afternoon detention. Several other students were there. The first and most obvious was Tina, which didn't surprise either of the children. Tobias and Banana Joe were the last two.

"Tobias? Joe? What did you guys do to get detention?" Darwin asked, surprised to see two of his friends there. "Well, remember that disco ball the school hung up in the auditorium?" Tobias began. "Yeah..?" Both Carrie and Darwin said in unison. "Well, we thought it would be a kick if it was lowered a little and we could swing around the auditorium from it… Needless to say, Joe went first and it didn't exactly work out how we thought." Tobias shrugged. Joe chuckled. "I guess you could say after that we split." He said, laughing to himself. Tobias joined in before wiping a tear from his eye.

"So, what did you do to get stuck here?" He asked with a smile. "Mr. Brown kind of overreacted." Darwin explained. The other three students moved closer, Tina gaining interest. "What did you do to tick him off? Brown's usually a coolheaded kind of guy." Tobias asked. "He said we were doing 'PDA', whatever that is." Carrie said.

The three students broke out into sniggers and laughter. "What? What's so funny?" Darwin asked. "PDA stands for 'public display of affection'! What were you guys doing? Kissing?" Tobias broke out into a roaring laughter with Tina and Banana Joe. Darwin blushed and Carrie would have too if she had flesh and blood.

"We were not! It was just hugging!" They defended in embarrassed unison. "Hey Carrie? Does he smell like fish?" Joe asked and the three of them broke out into laughter again. Carrie grumbled. "Ugh, you guys are so immature." She said, flipping her hair. The three of them quieted down after that, the laughter and jokes subsiding.

"Sorry, sorry. We're sorry, right guys?" Tobias asked the other two. Tina was chuckling lightly and Joe was getting over a sputter of laughter. "Yeah, we're sorry." Tina apologized, a rare thing indeed. "Yeah, I just can't help with the jokes, you know?" Joe apologized as well. "Anyway, it just seems so unlikely… I mean, Carrie, you've never really shown any display of affection!" Tobias said.

"Well, Darwin's different than everyone else. I see everyone else and they seem so self-centered and ignorant, oblivious to everything going on around them and the emotions of others. Darwin always seems selfless and tries to do what's best for everyone. No offense." Carrie explained, apologizing for just insulting the three of them. "None taken." Tobias shrugged. "Hit the banana on the head, ha-ha!" Joe smiled. "Meh, I've heard worse." Tina admitted.

"Well then, good for the two of you… I guess." Tobias conceded. They all returned to their seats as Ms. Simian strolled in. "Alright miscreants," She growled, "I want you all to write a three page report on why you are in here and why you'll never do it again." The students groaned, but after Simian's glare, they got to work.

After detention, Darwin and Carrie met up together. "So, you're D-day is tomorrow." Darwin said casually. "Yep. It'll be the 123rd, I believe." Carrie said casually. "Wow. If you don't mind me asking, why are you still in my grade? You're clearly very intelligent and had plenty of years to further your education, so why stay in the same grade all that time?" Darwin asked.

Carrie thought about it. "There was no incentive for moving forward. This grade is fun. My friends have more freedoms than elementary school, but aren't full of the drama of high school. Not only that, but what does college grant me that I haven't learned already? What does a job grant me that I need?" She explained. Darwin thought about it. "Would you go to high school and college with me?" He asked. Carrie smiled again, a trait she was picking up rather quickly. "Yeah, I could do that if it means spending more time with you and my current friends. They're a lot better than the friends before them." She said.

Darwin smiled and walked Carrie to the bus before meeting up with Gumball and driving home. Tomorrow was going to be great.

**Another chap completed. Sorry if this one seems short or rushed in anyway, but four pages a chapter is sort of a new feat for me :D**


	7. The Dday

Carrie jerked her head a few times at the comb in her hair. Leave it to her mother to find the one comb in town that could comb ghost hair. "Mom, I like my hair how it is!" Carrie groaned. "Oh, but don't you want to look all nice and spiff for this Darwin fellow?" Loretta asked her squirming daughter.

Carrie sighed in submission. She did want to look nice for Darwin, so she'd just have to tough it through the unusual yanking sensation of the comb. After her mother was done she looked in a broken mirror and gasped lightly. Her hair was combed back and her bangs were scrunched flawlessly in her skull barrette clip. How did her mother even do that?

Carrie stared into the unfamiliar face that stared back at her. It had been so long since she had seen both of her eyes exposed. She kind of liked the look, but had to admit she wouldn't want to keep it like that very much. It made her look too much like her mother, and Carrie prided herself on her independent style.

But she did hope Darwin would like it…

…

Darwin fiddled with a bowtie and sighed. Not having a neck made it very difficult to dress nice. Actually, not having a torso made it very difficult to dress at all. So, Darwin merely put on nice shoes and hoped that would be enough. Taking several deep breaths he began to leave for her house when he stopped and remembered his present for her.

He grabbed a black box with a pink bow and ribbon and held it for a moment. He wasn't sure if you were supposed to bring presents to D-days or not, or what kind of gifts you brought if you could, but he was sure that she would like it. Or, at least he hoped she would like it.

Darwin once again trekked out of the house and headed for Carrie's home, wondering exactly what the D-day had in store. He hoped it wasn't heartbreak.

…

Carrie floated around, watching as several relatives flew in: her grandparents from both sides, dead long before she was. Her father was passing stories with both of her grandfathers. The usual stories that they had told thousands of times of their lives and eventually recent happenings of their afterlife.

Carrie's grandfathers, ironically, served on opposite sides in some war she wasn't familiar with. Her maternal grandfather, whom everyone just called 'the Colonel', wore a ghostly plumed shako and tunic with cord and epaulettes, his facial feature little more than a monocle and a bushy mustache. Her paternal grandfather wore a top hat, much like her father, and shirt and vest. His features were very similar to Carrie's own, including his bangs getting into one of his eyes, but with a scruffy goatee.

From what Carrie gathered, the Colonel was the actual soldier in the family while her other grandfather, Sebastian, was an accountant in an enemy country. They'd had a long family feud before the marriage of their children stamped out the hatred. Her grandmothers were very similar and bickered often, dressed in extravagant, flowery hats and feather boas. Carrie shook her head. Good ol' Grandma Betty and Grandma Gertrude.

"My, my; 123 years of undeath." Grandma Betty said gently to Carrie, "That's quite awhile. I remember when you when you were still in diapers and now you're all… ghost. Too young." Betty sighed and Gertrude rolled her eyes. "No one is ever too young to die. It happens all the time, Betty. Quit mourning and start dying, that's what I say." She argued. The two went into a bickering match so Carrie floated away.

"Ah, Carrie." Her grandfather Sebastian greeted with a hug. Carrie returned the hug. Sebastian was always the hugger. "Your father tells me you're being courted by a young lad. I hear he's quite well-behaved." Sebastian said heartily. The Colonel appeared next to him. "Indeed, tell us about this young gent. He sounds every bit the young man we'd expect you to wed." He added. Carrie flustered. "Wed? I'm like, 13!" She argued.

"Technically, you're more like… 136, dearie." Her mother called out. "Well, he's like 13! It's two young to be thinking of marriage." Carrie defended. "Really? Weren't you planning on wedding at 16? Or is that no longer common practice?" The Colonel laughed at his own joke. "It's now 18." Carrie explained. "Oh." The Colonel quit laughing. "My, we have really fallen out of touch, haven't we Sebastian?" He asked. "Pft, speak for yourself." Sebastian laughed.

Carrie floated away from that argument and looked out the window to see where Darwin was. She told him the celebration started at 6.00pm, and it was now 5.45pm. She hoped he'd be here soon.

…

Darwin approached the old house and stood on the front steps. He was about to knock when the door swung open and Carrie floated there. They both stopped, surprised. Carrie had gone outside to get a better look to see if Darwin was coming and Darwin had just arrived.

"Darwin, how are you this evening?" Carrie asked, almost flipping her hair back before she remembered it wasn't hanging in front of her face. Darwin noticed it too. "Your haircut is very pretty today, Carrie." He commented. Carrie didn't notice that he was holding something behind his back and became distracted by the comment before she could even wonder why his arms were behind him.

She held her cheeks and smiled with her eyes closed. "You really think so?" She asked. "Of course! I mean, I like your other hairstyle as well, but this one looks… unique. Unique in a good way of course." Darwin smiled. Carrie invited him in and Darwin stepped into the house. His smile soon faded.

He became overcome by the feeling of one haunted by bad memories. The room was rather dark, dimly lit by candles and the near-transparent beings. These beings, which Darwin figured were Carrie's relatives, floated around, staring at him quietly. Each of them looked like a human that's lower body had become scrappy and eventually deteriorated into a ghostly tail. The silence and macabre atmosphere were making Darwin nervous.

"Um, hello Carrie's family." He waved and smiled kindly, but with the nervousness showing through. "Hello." They all responded in a monotonous unison. Darwin gulped; that was kind of creepy. After a few minutes of standing around, the celebration actually began.

"Today we are here to commemorate the death and undeath of our dear Caroline Loretta von Ghost, who died this day 123 years ago at the young age of 13." Benedict began and several relatives bowed their heads in respect, "Many of you might remember that she passed away from severe burn injuries caused by the fire that took both our house and our lives several days earlier." He continued.

Darwin's eyes widened in awe. He knew Carrie had been dead for over a century and assumed she'd died young, but he had never imagined such a terrible demise. Carrie looked a little more embarrassed than she did saddened at the fact Darwin had discovered her method of departure. She was used to reliving the memories, but the fact Darwin now knew was just… embarrassing.

"But, as sad as her death and departure might have been, we are all the happier to have her in our undead family. It is a joyous relief to see our little girl everyday, adjusting to everyday life outside our humble abode. We especially have this young gentleman here to thank for her newfound happiness." Benedict continued, gesturing to Darwin, "Now, if the young couple would like to take the center and dance…" He made a sweeping motion and Carrie's relatives formed a circle around Carrie and Darwin. Darwin noticed they were standing beneath a hole in the roof that let in the full moonlight around the two of them.

Carrie shook her head in embarrassment. A waltz in the moonlight? That was so cliché, so gushy romantic and dumb! Why would she want to- Darwin held out his arm with a smile and Carrie floated, stupefied, for a moment before grabbing it. Well, one moonlight waltz certainly couldn't hurt…

As soon as she grabbed his arm, _Danse Macabre_ began playing and Carrie rolled her eyes. Leave it to a D-day party to have 'the Dance of Death' play as party music. Oh well, it was an interesting waltz, and Darwin and Carrie quickly got into step. They danced through the entire waltz, Carrie eventually resting her head on Darwin's shoulder. It was odd to hear a heartbeat once more, fast at first but then calm and tranquil.

Darwin was having a great time as well. His heart skipped a beat when Carrie rested her head on his shoulder. He was in love like never before, certainly. Obviously Carrie was enjoying herself and there was nothing that could possibly spoil the moment…

Just than a large part of the roof fell and landed on Darwin, passing through Carrie who quit dancing at the loud noise. She looked down and saw Darwin passed out under the planks of roofing and gasped. "Darwin!" She shouted, swooping down and phasing Darwin through the planks and onto solid ground again. He was out cold.

As Carrie dropped over her unconscious boyfriend, mouth agape in sadness and horror, her family merely looked around the house, wondering about the shoddy construction.

"Well," her father finally spoke, not exactly knowing what to say, "that sucked."

**Chapter finished! Final chapter is up next :D**

**And was this meant to be sad? Was it meant to be funny? A little of both, lol. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and I hope you stay tuned even though I just maimed everybody's favourite fishy friend **


	8. The Poorly Devised Epilogue

Gumball, Anais and their parents arrived to the hospital within minutes of the call. Darwin was lying in a hospital bed with cast on one of his fins and legs. Carrie and her parents floated nearby, Carrie looking sadder than usual.

"Oh my gosh, what happened?" Nicole asked, going to the bedside and looking at her injured son. "Well, it's my fault really." Benedict sighed, "I've been meaning to get the old place renovated, but I figured it would've held firm for another week or two. I blame the pigeons." Nicole glared at him.

"Oh man, buddy are you alright?" Gumball asked, teary eyed. He moved in close with his sister Anais, who was also holding back tears. Darwin opened his eyes and Carrie moved up with them. She was wearing her usual hairstyle rather than her more sophisticated one. "Darwin?" She asked. Darwin looked up at his surrounding family and Carrie and smiled. The family sighed collectively to see he was, at the very least, conscious.

"I'm ok, Gumball." Darwin smiled. He turned to Carrie and saw that she was sad. "What's wrong, Carrie?" He asked. "I'm just sorry this happened to you… I-I should've stopped it somehow…" She said, closing her eyes sadly. "But Carrie, how could you have known the roof was going to collapse right where we were dancing? It looked perfectly stable to me." Darwin asked. Benedict sighed. "Well, at least I'm not the only one who thought so." He muttered.

"Well, did you manage to save my gift for you?" Darwin asked. Carrie blinked and in surprise. "You got a gift? For me?" Carrie asked in surprise. "Well, yeah. I mean, it was your party and all… I figured that a gift was appropriate." Darwin explained. Carrie sniffed as she smiled. She couldn't cry – nor would she allow herself to – but that was probably the sweetest thing anyone outside of her family had done for her.

Her father appeared beside her and removed his top hat, pulling a black box with a pink bow and ribbon from it. "I believe this was his gift." He noted, handing it over to his daughter. Carrie gingerly opened the slightly worn, but still pristine, box up. She gasped at what was inside. Darwin smiled at her reaction.

Inside, miraculously still intact, was a small, vanilla cake with chocolate frosting that read 'Happy D-Day, Carrie!' in big, cursive vanilla letters. She almost dropped it through her hands from a combination of excitement and utter joy. Pure, honest joy; an emotion she had not felt for over a century once more flowed through her being.

She gently closed the box and placed it down on a side table before approaching Darwin. Darwin raised an eyebrow curiously at Carrie. She was smiling and staring at him with unknown intent. "Carrie..?" Darwin began before he was silenced and drawn into a loving kiss all in one moment. He shirked backwards from the sudden and unexpected action but quickly closed his eyes and kissed her back.

Nicole and Richard wrapped an arm around the other and smiled at their second-oldest happily in love. Gumball smiled and winked at Darwin, giving him a thumbs-up. Benedict's pipe fell out of his mouth and his monocle popped off. Loretta made an 'awww' noise. As soon as Carrie and Darwin parted, the door opened suddenly and Penny rushed in startled.

"I heard Gumball was in the hospital! What happened? Is he alright? Is anyone else hurt?" She asked in a near-panic. Gumball calmly and reassuringly wrapped his arm around the antlered-peanut and shushed. "It's alright, Penny. I'm alright and Darwin here only has two broken limbs. Everything will be back to normal in a few weeks." He said with a smile. Penny immediately calmed down.

"Oh, well alright. Are you alright Darwin?" Penny asked kindly. "Never better!" Darwin exclaimed and Carrie blushed. Penny raised an eyebrow but looked between them a few times before letting out an 'oh…' noise. She returned her arm around Gumball and they sat with Darwin and the others for a while before the doctors agreed he was well enough to be let out of the hospital.

…

And so the ghost and the fish began spending their days in middle school together, becoming a closer couple. Through high school they stayed together and had the second most stable relationship in the school, right after Penny and Gumball's. They would later go onto be married and have kids of their own who would have adventures and loves of their own as time passed on… Although nobody ever really understood how that happened exactly, no one questioned it just as no one questioned Darwin's sudden legs and arms and ability to breath air and talk.

And they all lived happily ever after.

**WAH! I failed big time at this ending :(**

**It took me forever to finish and after a week of staring at how pitifully short this was and not being able to think of anything longer, I finally ended it the only way I could think of: happily ever after. This ending sucked, I apologize, but I hope the story itself made up for it.**

…

**I blame the gender-swap Adventure Time episode for throwing my groove of. Looked forward to that thing for a whole week and than got a big middle finger at the end of the episode. Entertaining, yes, but slightly a heartbreaker.**

**Oh well; send in your negative reviews because I'm certain the roof-collapse and crappy ending pissed ****someone**** off…**


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